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Supermoon Sparked Rhino Killing Spree as Poaching Numbers Skyrocket

Sunday's supermoon lunar eclipse was absolutely beautiful, but it was also deadly for some African wildlife. Eight rhinos were killed over the weekend at a South African park, Hluhluwe Game Reserve, according to wildlife officials. This puts the death toll for poached rhinos in the area up to 86 for the year. The total for all of 2014 was 99.

"Full moon periods are known as the dreaded 'poachers' moon," said Simon Bloch of South Africa's Times, because the brightness of the moon helps poachers hunt without the use of artificial lighting, which can give away their position to wildlife officials.

"The extra light really assists the poachers," Kotze explains. "There is just so much more time for poachers to be in out in the veld/bush with weather conditions playing in their favor."

The killing spree this past weekend was, no doubt, brought on by the supermoon. "Full moon periods are known as the dreaded 'poachers' moon," said Simon Bloch of South Africa's Times, who initially reported on the killings. He told The Dodo "at least six of [the eight] killings took place over the exact period of the supermoon lunar eclipse, which lasted from sunset on Sunday to sunrise on Monday. At least six of the rhinos had their horns hacked out of their faces. Four died from lethal chemical darting; two others were shot by a rifle."

Wildlife killing often increases during full moons because it allows for increased visibility "thus eliminating the need for unnatural light sources such as flashlights in the bush, which could give their positions away to watchful eyes—it makes it easier to see one's quarry/target," said Bloch.

Bloch says the reserve has tried to crack down on poaching, but has little to show for it. "There are some exceptionally dedicated and skilled anti-poaching rangers," he says. "However, insufficient man-power and budget expenditure makes it difficult to keep rhinos safe from criminal syndicates that operate with inside information, and have the bush-craft skills and weaponry to infiltrate the expansive reserves, which are protected wilderness areas."

Wildlife poaching has become a massive problem worldwide. Despite heightened awareness of the problem, Louie Psihoyos, award-winning director of The Cove and Racing Extinction, says the "wildlife trade is second only to the drug trade.”

Rhino poaching has increased dramatically in recent years. Photo credit: World Wildlife Fund South Africa

Rhinos' numbers have plummeted worldwide in recent years as poaching has skyrocketed. The Western Black Rhinoceros was declared extinct in 2011. Currently, the Black Rhino, Javan Rhino and Sumatran Rhino are listed as critically endangered. "In Africa, Southern white rhinos, once thought to be extinct, now thrive in protected sanctuaries and are classified as Near Threatened," says the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

"But the Northern white rhino subspecies is believed to be extinct in the wild and only a few captive individuals remain in a sanctuary in Kenya," adds WWF. "Black rhinos have doubled in number over the past two decades from their low point of 2,480 individuals, but total numbers are still a fraction of the estimated 100,000 that existed in the early part of the 20th century." From 2010 to 2015, 4,714 rhino deaths have been reported in South Africa alone, according to Oxpeckers, a group of investigative environmental journalists.

According to Save the Rhino, there were 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia at the beginning of the 20th century. It dipped to 70,000 by 1970 and further plummeted to 29,000 in the wild today. Image credit: Save the Rhino

And earlier this year, 68 elephants were killed by armed militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 60 days. The militantshave aggressively moved into the poaching business to use money from illegal ivory to buy food, weapons and ammunition. At the African Elephant Summit this year, delegates from various Asian, European and African countries predicted that African elephants could go extinct within decades if something doesn't change.

The world of food and drug regulation was rocked earlier this month by the news of a change in leadership at the Food and Drug Administration. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb resigned and will step down in early April. His temporary replacement is Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute.

On Wednesday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first 20 chemicals it plans to prioritize as "high priority" for assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Given the EPA's record of malfeasance on chemicals policy over the past two years, it is clear that these are chemicals that EPA is prioritizing to ensure that they are not properly evaluated or regulated.

Strawberries top the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list of U.S. produce most contaminated with pesticides. DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP / Getty Images

Which conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables in the U.S. are most contaminated with pesticides? That's the question that the Environmental Working Group answers every year with its "Dirty Dozen" list of produce with the highest concentration of pesticides after being washed or peeled.

A U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked oil and gas drilling on 300,000 acres of federal leases in Wyoming Tuesday, arguing that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) "did not sufficiently consider climate change" when auctioning off the land, The Washington Post reported.

A report published Wednesday names the banks that have played the biggest recent role in funding fossil fuel projects, finding that since 2016, immediately following the Paris agreement's adoption, 33 global banks have poured $1.9 trillion into financing climate-changing projects worldwide.

Sriram Madhusoodanan of Corporate Accountability speaking on conflict of interest demand of the People's Demands at a defining action launching the Demands at COP24. Corporate Accountability

By Patti Lynn

2018 was a groundbreaking year in the public conversation about climate change. Last February, The New York Times reported that a record percentage of Americans now believe that climate change is caused by humans, and there was a 20 percentage point rise in "the number of Americans who say they worry 'a great deal' about climate change."